You can make granola in a crockpot, too!!

After the yogurt finished, I tried a new recipe for granola. (Another crockpot recipe) I tossed in a couple of cinnamon sticks and the rind from the orange I was peeling for my lunch smoothie and let it all toast together. Mmmmmmmm.....fresh Greek yogurt sprinkled with warm granola. Unbelievable! I've pigged out the kids have snacked on this all day!

Crockpot Granola

5 C. old-fashioned rolled oats 1/4 C. flax seeds or wheat germ
1/2 C. chopped nuts 1/3 C. coconut
1/4 C. sunflower seeds 1/2 C. oil
1/2 C. honey 1/2 C. dried fruit

Mix oats, flax, nuts, coconut, and sunflower seeds in crockpot. Whisk oil and honey to blend and pour over the granola. Stir to mix well. Cook on high for 3-4 hours, stirring whenever it smells like it's browning. When it's finished cooking, stir in the dried fruit.

Making yogurt in a crockpot??

Before moving to Germany we really weren't big yogurt enthusiasts. None of us like the tartness and artificial flavors of most American yogurt. Why is it that the American food industry seems to be intent on ruining "Americanizing" mind-blowingly delicious food from other countries? It never works. Unfortunately most Americans seldom have the opportunity to try these foods in all their intended glory; so we slog along consuming pitifully Americanized versions of German brats, Danish butter, Italian pizza, Mexican tacos, and European yogurt. So sad. One of our favorite things to eat by the near gallon is European yogurt. Greek is our favorite. The thick, creamy texture and mellow flavor is unforgettable. So is the price! But this week I found a blog that gave instructions for making yogurt in a crockpot and now there's no turning back. The recipe turned out a perfectly creamy, mellow yogurt. I wanted a super-thick, Greek consistency, though, so I poured it into a coffee filter-lined colander and let it sit for a couple of hours. We stirred in a little honey and homemade vanilla extract, grabbed spoons, and fought over the bowl. I'm trying another batch today using soymilk, which will make it even cheaper since we make our own soymilk. Let's hope it works! ;)

Crockpot Yogurt

8 C. (1/2 gallon) whole milk
1/2 C. yogurt with live/active cultures

Pour milk into crockpot and cook on low for 2-1/2 hours. Turn off and let milk cook for 3 hours. Remove 2 C. of the slightly warm milk and whisk into the yogurt. Return it all to the crockpot and stir to blend. If the crockpot or milk is cold, turn it back on for a few minutes just to warm up a little. Otherwise, wrap the whole thing up in two or three large, thick bath towels to insulate it. Let it sit 8 hours or overnight. When finished, sweeten and flavor as desired. Before sweetening/flavoring remove 1/2 C to serve as the starter for your next batch.

Why another food blog?

In my efforts to feed our large family of eight, I have three main struggles.

1. The first is our one-income military-pay budget. I allow myself a food budget of 9-9.5% of our monthly take home pay. With that money I buy all of our groceries, dog food, and cleaning supplies. We eat out as a family maybe twice a year. Subway is as "fast food" as we get, and that's a very rare treat.
2. My second challenge is providing healthy, balanced food with enough variety that we don't get bored. There's not much worse than a boring, predictable food repertoire. It's easy to fall into the trap of repeating the same quick meals for lack of time and ideas, but I try my best to avoid that pitfall. Quality fuel (nutrition) results in quality performance (health).
3. The last struggle I have in providing food for my family is rooted in my upbringing. I come from a family of really good cooks and grew up in a community of nearly equally good cooks. From the beginning I stood little chance of avoiding becoming a food snob. I want fresh, quick, delicious food, not sodium and preservative laden packaged crap food products.

I'm emptying our house of all the really good stuff that makes everything taste so greatthe dreaded "white stuff"... white sugar, white flour, white rice, corn syrup. Being the perennial tightwad that I am, that means we'll be using it up and replacing it with the healthier brown stuff as we go, rather than totally purging. We have a nearly vegetarian diet, eating a little chicken, turkey, or fish once or twice a week. And I'm a big believer in using herbs rather than synthetic chemicals to heal our bodies; athough synthetic chemicals certainly have their place and are sometimes the best option.

My prayer is that some of what we're doing might serve to encourage someone else out there to produce healthier bodies and happy tummies for their family.